Black History Month: Bert Williams
Bert Williams It's Black History Month, and I don't know much, but I want to learn more about how The Civil Rights Movement not only helped shape our nation culturally and politically, but especially how it shaped the arts. I thought it would be best to start at the "beginning" of modern musical theatre with someone who I've found really interesting through my research. Egbert Austin Williams was born in 1874 in The Bahamas and came to be one of the most influential black American entertainers of all time. As you look at the timeline of musical theatre's evolution, you come upon minstrel shows which grew in popularity in the 1800s. Minstrel shows, in short and shameful summary, were white entertainers in blackface caricaturing black people in song, dance and skits. But by the later half of the century, black entertainers were starting their own minstrel troupes and performing for white audiences. In 1893, Bert joined Martin and Selig's Mastodon Minst...